Quote:
Originally Posted by
setamp 
Having spent more time with the AD823, I have to say it is "almost" the right chip.
Positives: Sweet upper mids, clear midrange, full and controlled bass. This chip gets the tone right and it is dynamic. Instrument separation is excellent with a lot of air around individual performers.
Negative: The soundstage is huge but oddly shaped. It is extremely wide but has little depth. In addition, I get the feeling I am on stage with the performers. I can "see" them to my left and right and slighly in front of me. At times they are behind me. It is somewhat disconcerting.
I would love to find an opamp that sounds like the AD823 but with a deeper (and pushed back) soundstage.
Yeah I know what you mean I feel the same way you do about it. there are so many opamps and discrete opamps to choose from its daunting. I chose the AD823 to go with based on prior opamp rolling with other equipment and the opamps I rolled in the Minimax. It seemed to be the best tradeoff
I still plan on rolling the 797's mounted dual and try a discrete opamp in U1 and U2 but hahaha I'm still fighting with rolling tubes in my Lyr. Now every change I make to the minimax changes my tube signature in the LyR so hahaha so many variables. But that's what makes it fun
